Get the Official BBC micro:bit User Guide!

Dec 1, 2017

The Official BBC micro:bit User Guide, designed to help children, parents, teachers, and anybody else get to grips with the capabilities of the platform, is now available to buy from Amazon in the UK and internationally, and other booksellers under ISBN 978-1119386735!

Here the author, Gareth Halfacree, describes the inspiration for this book and more details about what you can find inside:

The BBC micro:bit is an absolutely amazing creation, designed to bring coding and electronics to the masses in a compact little package. As soon as I got my hands on one I knew I had to be involved - and what better way than by ensuring that everyone got as smooth a start as possible via a detailed yet approachable user guide?

As the author of the Raspberry Pi User Guide, I know only too well that quality documentation is key for any project aimed at education. I'm not alone in thinking that, either: when I approached the Micro:bit Educational Foundation on that topic they were only too keen to join forces on production of what has now launched as the Official BBC micro:bit User Guide.

Published by J. Wiley & Sons in English and with translations due to start hitting shelves from early next year, the User Guide is a 300-page tome designed to walk you through your BBC micro:bit from the core concepts and unboxing it right through to building a wearable rain-sensing system, multi-device radio network, or interactive game, all in three distinct languages: JavaScript Blocks, JavaScript, and Python.

The User Guide is very much a collaborative work, and there's a list as long as my arm of people who need thanking for their tireless efforts. My project editor John Sleeva and the other editors, proofreaders, typesetters, and supporting staff at Wiley, of course; technical editor David Whale, who made sure the details are all as they should be; Micro:bit Educational Foundation chief executive Zach Shelby, who embraced the project from the get-go, and chief technical officer Jonny Austin, who offered considerable support and also kindly provided the book's foreword.

Most of all, though, the thanks go to the global community of BBC micro:bit users who, with their enthusiasm and passion, have driven its adoption and proven its capabilities dozens of times over - and I can only hope my humble contribution is equally well received.

The English edition of the Official BBC micro:bit User Guide is available now in print and electronic forms via http://amzn.to/2AfYZOi, http://amzn.com/111938673X and other booksellers under ISBN 978-1119386735. The first translations are due to be published beginning early next year, and if you'd like to see your language included please drop me a line at freelance@halfacree.co.uk and I'll talk to Wiley about making it happen!

I hope you all enjoy the book as much as you're enjoying the BBC micro:bit.